In recognition of Native American Heritage Month, the Rudman Center presents a conversation with Judge Arthur Gajarsa on his extensive experience representing tribal interests, including several appearances before the U.S. Supreme Court. In the early 1980s, he represented the Cayuga Nation in its claim for land and monetary compensation from the state of New York. Judge Gajarsa also served as special counsel and assistant to the Commissioner of Indian Affairs at the Department of the Interior. In 1974, he received the John F. Kennedy award for his work with Native Americans.
The event takes place on Nov. 14, 11:45 a.m. - 12:45 p.m., in Room 282. Lunch is included. Registration is required. Please register here by Nov. 13.
Judge Gajarsa will discuss some of the key cases that have formed the foundation of Federal Indian law, as well as ongoing debates involving tribal sovereignty. He will also address the significance of the Indian Citizenship Act. Enacted 100 years ago, the Act ensured that all Native Americans born within the U.S. had citizenship. It would be decades, however, before all 50 states granted Native American citizens the right to vote. To this day, Native voters have waged court battles to enforce their civil rights and protect their freedom to vote.
Judge Arthur Gajarsa, Distinguished Jurist-in-Residence at the UNH Franklin Pierce School of Law
More about Judge Gajarsa:
Judge Arthur Gajarsa, retired from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, is the first Distinguished Jurist-in-Residence at the Franklin Pierce Center for Intellectual Property. Judge Gajarsa was appointed to the bench by President Clinton in 1997. Prior to this, he was a partner in the Washington, DC law firm of Joseph, Gajarsa, McDermott and Reiner. He also served as a patent examiner with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, worked as an attorney in the Department of Defense specializing in defense systems analysis and intellectual property rights, and served as special counsel and assistant to the Commissioner of Indian Affairs at the Department of the Interior.
He has long been an adjunct professor at the Georgetown University Law Center, from which he received his JD. He also earned a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and a master’s degree in economics from the Catholic University of America.
